Assessment of radiation dose due to 210Po in water and food samples of Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Groundwater is in direct contact with the soil and rocks that dissolve many compounds and minerals including uranium and its daughter products. 210Po is one of the decay products of 238U series that cause internal radiation dose in humans when consumed in the form of water and food, including sea food. Therefore, activities of 210Po have been studied in ground and surface water, and in food samples that are commonly used in Chamarajanagar region of Karnataka, India. The average 210Po concentration in bore well water samples and surface water samples are 3.21 and 1.85 mBq L−1, respectively. In raw rice and wheat, the average values of 210Po are 96 and 41 mBq kg−1, respectively. In millets and pulses, the average activity of 210Po is 157 and 79 mBq kg−1, respectively. Among food items, the highest activity of 1.3 kBq kg−1 is observed in marine crabs and the lowest activity of 2.6 mBq kg−1 is found in milk samples. The average ingestion dose due to 210Po in ground and surface water are 2.8 and 1.62 μSv y−1, respectively. The ingestion dose due to various food samples to the population is also calculated. Total ingestion dose due to 210Po to pure vegetarian population and general population are 38.09 and 590.80 μSv y−1, respectively. The concentration of 210Po in water samples and food samples of this region are in a comparable range with the world and Indian average values and lies well below the recommended guideline level.